Hinge bushing



Nov. 20, 1962 D. L. BIESECKER HINGE BUSHING Filed Dec. 6, 1960 IN V EN TOR. Don a [d L. Biesec/rer XZZAWM United States Illinois Tool Works Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 6, 1969, Ser. No. 74,177 3 Claims. (Cl. 308-15) This invention relates to an improved hinge bushing. More particularly, the invention contemplates an assembly of a plastic member and a sheet metal member for association with a sheet material enclosure to support the pins of one or more hinge elements.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved receptacle for the pin of a plate hinge.

Another object of the invention is to provide an assembly which can be readily associated with a workpiece for the acceptance of a plate hinge pin.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an economical hinge bushing which does not require lubrication.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent upon reading of the specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view in partial section of one embodiment of the invention shown in applied position on a workpiece;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same embodiment of the invention as taken along line 22 of FIG. 3 prior to its assembly with the workpiece;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the device shown in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4, 4A and 4B are perspective views in partial section in exploded relation prior to assembly showing a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view in partial section of the first mentioned embodiment as applied to a workpiece and showing the related positions of parts.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 3, and FIG. 5, an embodiment of this invention is disclcsed as it might be utilized on the freezer unit of a refrigerator. While the specific embodiments disclosed relate to a specific construction, it is to be understood that the teachings of the invention are equally applicable to other areas of endeavor. The hinge bushing assembly includes a plastic member 12 and a sheet metal member 14. The plastic member includes a tubular body 16 closed at one end by base portion 18 and having a bore 20. At the end opposite to base 18 is a laterally extending head 22, which in the present instance is circular in shape as is the body portion 16. Extending downwardly from head 20 about the peripheral edge thereof is a depending resilient lip or flange 24. Lip 24 tapers to a thin configuration at its lowermost extending position, as viewed in the drawings, for reasons best set forth hereinafter.

The sheet metal member 14 includes a body or shell portion 26 which is complementary in its inner dimension to the outside surface of the plastic member 12. The shell portion 26 is of lesser axial extent than the body portion 16 and is provided at one end with a laterally extending flange 28 for underlying the head 22 of the plastic member but has a more limited lateral extent than head 22 and thereby does not interfere with lip 24. At the opposite end of shell 26 from flange 28, there is provided suitable means such as a ducked-in portion 30, which is of lesser internal diameter than the outer diameter of body portion 16 of the plastic member. The sheet metal member 14 is split as at 32 so that when it is axially applied to the plastic member it will open outwardly to permit its assembly herewith and because of its resilient nature will return to its initial diameter after assembly. At this time the ducked-in portions 30 bite into the adatent' O jacent areas of the plastic body 16 and prevent axial movement between the parts when the flange 28 is positioned adjacent the undersurface of the head 22. A plurality of spring fingers 33 are struck from the body 26 and extend upwardly and outwardly therefrom in the direction of flange 28. The spacing between the ends of fingers 33 and flange 28 are controlled for purposes best set forth hereinafter.

The assembly 10 is associated with a workpiece 34 by telescoping the assembly through complementary aperture 36. The spring fingers 32 are moved inwardly during passage through the aperture and then returned to their normal position to underlie the lower or internal surface of the workpiece 34. The distance between planes perpendicular to the axis of the assembly and passing through the ends of fingers 32 and lip 24, respectively, is controlled so as to be less than the thickness of workpiece 34. To accommodate the added thickness of the workpiece material 34, lip 24 is compressed and laterally flexed into intimate contact with the upper surface of the workpiece 34 thereby providing a seal around aperture 36 to prevent the ingress of undesirable matter to the interior of the workpiece 34.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the workpiece 34 in this disclosure is shown as a freezer compartment of a refrigerator unit. A closure or door 38 is provided for mounting thereon by means of flat plate hinges 40. Hinges 40 comprise a right angle metal plate 42 having a plurality of apertures 44 at one end thereof and a projecting hinge pin 46 at the opposite end. The hinge pin 46 is adapted to be complementary to and telescopically associated with the bore 20 of bushing assembly 10. The surface of plate 42 from which the pin 46 projects is further adapted to be seated on top of head 22. When the pin 46 is telescoped within bore 20, the hinge 46 can be assembled to the door 38 by suitable means, such as screws 48 passing through the apertures 44.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 4, 4A and 4B wherein similar parts are designated by similar numerals with the addition of the suflix a. The hinge bushing assembly in this embodiment is substantially the same as the previous embodiment with the exception that this bushing is polygonal in configuration rather than being round or cylindrical. The plastic member 12a is associated with a split resilient sheet metal member 14a having longitudinally extending spring fingers 32a and ducked-in portions 30a adjacent one end thereof. The major variation in this embodiment resides in the fact that the flange 28a is discontinuous and segmental because of the polygonal configuration of the embodiment. The longitudinal dimensions in this embodiment are similarly controlled so that the distance in assembled relation between the free extremity of spring fingers 32a and the lowermost extremity of lip 24a is less than the material thickness of the workpiece with which it is to be associated. The bore 20a of the plastic portion is complementary to the hinge pin 46a.

The hinge bushing assembly described hereinabove is ideally suited for use in cabinet members made of thin sheet stock of either sheet metal, as shown, or sheet plastic materials. It is readily assembled with an aperture in the workpiece by axial telescoping therewith and can be applied with hand pressure. By giving a large axial and'lateral bearing area, it provides the advantage of adequate lateral stability which otherwise would not be present in sheet material. Adequate scaling is provided to prevent the ingress of foreign material to the interior of the cabinet. Further because of the lubricity of the plastic material the hinge pin 46 probably will never be lubricated by external means. The device is economical to manufacture because of a simple sheet metal stamping and an injection molded part.

3 While other embodiments willcertainly occur to those skilled in the art, it is my desire to be limited only by the appended claims.

I c1aim: 1. A hinge bushing fastener used'in door installations including a one piece, tubular plasticbody closed at one end and having aradially extending head portion at the opposite open end, said head having a continuous depending lip at its radial extremity extending in a direction toward said closedend and beyondfthe surface of saidhead continguous to said tubular body, a sheet metal member mounted'and encircling said tubularvbushing body and including a body portion complementary to the outside ofthetubular member and adapted to support said body portion, a head portion at one end of said sheet metal member formed as a laterally extending flange and adapted to :underlie the head of the tubularime'mber and to terminate radially short of said depending vlip of the head of said plastic body, a-plurality of resilienttfingers struck out from and. extending axially along said body and projecting radially outwardly from said body toward said head to provide a shoulder to cooperate with said flange totclampingly engage a complementary apertured work piece therebetween, means on said sheet metal member at its end opposite to the end with said flange deformed radially inwardly to bite into the plastic body portion of said tubular member to prevent axial movement between the two components in their assembled position, said bushing when installed in an apertured workpiece being adapted to axially andradially distort said lip means to form a seal around the aperture in said workpiece and further being adapted to accept within its body a pin from a complementary adjacent hinge member fastened to a second workpiece.

2. -A device of the type claimed in claim 1 wherein said plastic and sheet metal members are substantially cylindri- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,650,516 Poupitch Sept. 1, 1953 2,866,675 Kesling Dec. 30, 1958 

